 We started with almost no capital, two return flight tickets and some vintage fabrics that we had saved. We are not models by profession, have very little knowledge in art and are not trained in sales.

— Jack Liang / Theversatilegent.com - Octobre 2017

INTERVIEW EXCLUSIVE

My partner Homie Yang used to work in Harrolds, a high-end menswear retail shop in Melbourne prior to Trunk Tailors. I am admitted as a lawyer but quit my job at PricewaterhouseCoopers after working in corporate for 5 and half years to pursue this full time. Over the years, we have traveled and commissioned bespoke garments all around Italy, Japan and other regions. For us, it is the raw nature of tailoring, the lack of marketing that you would find in high end retail that attracted us. What most don't realise when they come in for an appointment is that it is truly one of the last remaining experiences where one can choose any fabric from around the world, have us source a deadstock fabric from Paris, request a particular lapel shape or have anything made from scratch. Yes, most tailors focus on colour of lining, buttonhole and monograms to get a client and their partner excited. However, for us, we are constructing a real hand made product intelligently. The idea of a blank canvas excites us.

Photo de Jamie Ferguson alias Jkf_man

Your suits are fully canvassed while the Australian climate might suggest that you would opt for something lighter. What do you think?

As all our suits are made by hand from scratch, we are versatile with every commission and tend to use the thinnest layer of canvas for our spring summer commissions. For a normal business suit, we recommend full canvas or light canvas (still full but thinner). For a tweed or casual suit, we tend to go without any canvas. The reason is that most tweed are bouncy and heavy with their own characteristics, you simply don't need to add anything more to shape the garment. For something like linen, wool silk linen mix etc, we find that the garment should mold with the wearer and gets better with every crease.

Your brand is very influenced by the Italian style. It's been a few years since this style is very popular on the Internet. Are you not you afraid that this trend will run out of steam?

I'd say our style is simply born out of necessity. It may be somewhat Italian, but i'd like to think in Australia it is more universal and we simply adapt to our every day life. For instance, I think the days of layers of canvas and sculpturing a man's body is over. Whether it is Italian or not, I think it is simply because it is 2018, we are much more aware of our own skin, and half the guys in Australia bench press way more than they need to in the gym. Therefore, there is no need to accentuate their physique like older days as the English would. Soft shoulders, lighter construction are here to stay, but that doesn't mean wearing a suit should be sloppy.

There is a trend to dress as if you just put it on without thought, you shouldn't. I think one should still stay well groomed, learn to press your suit, iron your shirt, shine your shoes and dress proud.

Photo de Jamie Ferguson alias Jkf_man

Have you planned to do trunkshows abroad?

We currently travel 3-4 times a year to other major cities in Australia and China. There is no 'ambition' to do beyond that in the short term. We are a very small team and our workshop simply cannot facilitate a much larger increase in volume. It is one of our great luxuries to be able to work with a small workshop and be able to hone in on every single garment design and to facilitate the design process with each individual client, something a factory cannot do. If we were to increase our volumes, our fundamental customer experience will deteriorate and we simply won't be as focused on our customers.